Customer Service Quality and Loyalty in Freight Forwarding Companies: A Study in Apapa, Lagos

This study examines the relationship between customer service quality and customer loyalty in freight forwarding companies operating in Apapa, Lagos, South West Nigeria. Apapa, home to Nigeria's largest port complex, hosts a dense concentration of freight forwarders providing import documentation, customs clearance, and cargo handling services. As competition intensifies, service quality has emerged as a critical differentiator for retaining clients in this market. Using a descriptive survey design, structured questionnaires were administered to 130 corporate importers and trading firms that regularly use freight forwarding services in Apapa. Service quality dimensions are adapted from the SERVQUAL framework, encompassing reliability, responsiveness, assurance, empathy, and tangibles as applied to the freight forwarding context. Customer loyalty is measured through repeat business intention, referral behaviour, and willingness to pay premium rates for preferred providers. Pearson correlation and multiple regression analysis are employed to determine which service quality dimensions most strongly predict loyalty outcomes. The study draws on recent service quality and supply chain service literature. Findings are expected to highlight reliability and responsiveness as the dominant drivers of freight forwarding customer loyalty, reinforcing the need for consistent operational standards. Recommendations are addressed to freight forwarding firm managers on integrating service quality measurement into their operational performance reviews and customer engagement strategies. Keywords: customer service quality, customer loyalty, freight forwarding, Apapa, Lagos.